Extra Baggage
by Nacean
Summary: Christina and her best friend Jennifer think they're up for a normal movie night. That is, until they are sucked in for the ride! RileyOC
1. Chapter 1

**This story is actually a re-written version of one I wrote a long time ago. Like, four years ago. XD It originally didn't have Jennifer in it, but I added her because Christina seemed lonely. D: **

…**And she makes me laugh. XD**

**Well, enjoy**

**Disclaimer: OMG GUYS I TOTALLY OWN THIS. TOTALLY. **

Christina flopped down onto her super squishy, army green sofa next to her best friend since forever, Jennifer.

"You better have popcorn and coke," Jennifer said, giving her a look, "or hell will be raised."

Christina held up her index finger and opened her mouth, and then a ding came from the kitchen.

"Way ahead of you."

She hopped up and trudged into the kitchen. There was the sound of popcorn falling into a bowl, the hiss of carbonation escaping from the coke bottle, and she returned with the aforementioned food and drink, and went to plug in the DVD.

"What're we watchin' anyway?" Jennifer inquired through a mouthful of popcorn.

"It's a surprise." She rose from the floor in front of the entertainment center, and once again set herself on the couch next to her friend. The movie started up, and she skipped through the previews and clicked start on the menu.

"Aww, National Treasure again?" Jennifer frowned, "You've seen this like, a million times. Aren't you tired of it?"

Christina put her hand over her heart in mock surprise, "Tired? Of National Treasure? Blasphemy! Besides, it's sixteen times, not a million."

Jennifer rolled her eyes, "Sixteen, a million, same difference. Point is, you watch it too much."

"Shh, it's starting!" Christina smiled and stuck her tongue out at her friend.

Jennifer punched her in return.

Suddenly, the screen started to fizzle with static, and the lamps went out.

"What's going on? Is there a storm?" Christina turned her head about the room.

Pressure starting building in her head and she grabbed it in pain. It felt as though her eardrums would explode.

"Chris! What's going on?" Jennifer also held her own head, wincing with pain.

She merely squeaked, as the pressure was too much to allow her to speak properly. They screamed as the room appeared to squirm and contort, however the TV stayed unchanged, still playing the movie. She screwed her eyes shut and held her breath, then, it was over. The pressure was gone and she felt perfectly fine once again. She slowly opened her eyes as she felt a cold wind nip at her exposed skin.

Her mouth fell open. All she could see for miles was snow. She looked to her side and let out a relieved sigh as her eyes fell on her friend, who shared the same look of confusion and fear.

"Chris, where are we?"

"I don't know, but-" She cut herself off as her eyes fell on two snow mobiles on the horizon.

"Jenn, I think we're in the movie."

Her friend just stared at her.

"Well, what do we do?"

"If we are in the movie, then that would be Ben and the gang over there," she pointed to the two vehicles "so I guess we go with them." She shivered.

"Before we freeze to death."

Her friend was up in a heartbeat and running over to them.

"Jenn! Jenn, wait!"

She scrambled to her feet and ran after her friend. She caught up with her and grabbed her shoulder.

"Jenn, we can't just run up to them and hop in!"

"Why not?"

"Oh, I don't know, maybe because it would be a tad suspicious if two eighteen year olds suddenly ran up from out of nowhere in the middle of the Arctic Circle!"

"Oh, is that where we are? I thought this might be Alaska or something."

"Yes! The Arctic Circle! I thought you had seen the movie before?"

"Well, once. But what do you expect us to do, we can't just stay here, and we can't tell the truth."

Christina thought for a moment.

"Well, I guess we will have to just run up to them, but let me do the talking!"

Jennifer rolled her eyes, "Yes ma'am. Now hurry! I'm freezing!"

They hurried over to the vehicles and waved their arms around, trying to get their attention. It worked, as they pulled over and Ben got out.

"Now what would two teenagers be doing out in the middle of the Arctic Circle?"

They just smiled.

"Well you see sir-"

"We were on a camping trip with some friends, and I guess they had a little too much and went off and left us while we were asleep." Christina interrupted.

Jennifer gave her an incredulous look and Christina elbowed her in the side.

"Oh, um, it's true."

Ben raised an eyebrow and stared at them.

Jennifer huffed, "Well, look, no matter how fake our story is you can't just let us stand out here and freeze to death."

He laughed and nodded his head, "Well I guess that's true "

Then a voice rang out from the back seat that made Christina's heart skip a beat.

"Hey Ben, what's the hold-up?"

"Oh, nothing, just two pretty girls."

"Ha ha, very funny."

Riley Poole. She had just heard Riley Poole in the flesh.

"That's Riley." Ben stated, repeating her thoughts.

"And I'm Ben. Ben Gates.", he said, extending a hand.

They took turns shaking it.

"Gates? You're the family looking for the treasure, right?"

He frowned slightly and nodded.

"Well it's an honor" Christina continued, "I always thought it was so interesting and I've wanted to meet you for a long time."

He smiled again.

"Well it's certainly nice to know there's someone out there who doesn't think I'm crazy." He smiled again and continued, "You two can take the back seat with Riley; there should be some extra coats back there."

They both climbed up into the vehicle and Christina stopped.

"Oh, our names are Christina," she motioned to herself, "…and Jennifer." She motioned to her friend, who was currently snuggling up in a big fluffy coat.

"Nice to meet you," two voices chorused, one belonging to Ben, the other dripping with an English accent.

A man in the front seat turned around to face them. Of course, this man was none other than Ian Howe.

"Oh, Christina, Jennifer, this is Ian Howe." Ben stated, once again repeating her thoughts.

"Pleasure." Christina said in a manner that said it was really not that pleasurable at all.

Jennifer was too busy enjoying her coat to say anything.

Finally, Riley said something for the first time in ten minutes, "I hate you Ben."

Ben laughed, "I told you, it's your fault you didn't believe me."

Christina finally looked over to him, and her breath caught in her throat. He looked even better in person than on screen! He had the most beautiful blue eyes and-

"This has to be the most comfortable coat I have ever worn." Jennifer pulled it tighter across her body with a content sigh.

Christina could almost smack her, but decided to thank her when her interruption caused her to notice that her mouth was hanging open and she was starting to drool.

"It'd better be" Riley said glaring at her, "seeing as how it was mine before you oh-so politely took it from me."

Christina took that as her opportunity to smack her and did so.

"Hey, I'M the lady; you should be honored to have me wear your coat."

"Jennifer Leigh Simpson! You give Riley his coat back this instant!"

"No." She replied, sticking her tongue out.

"Yes." Christina said, crossing her arms.

"No, I'm the cute one, I shouldn't be cold."

"Uh-huh. So, you still wouldn't give it back even if I mentioned Little J-"

Jennifer's hands flew over to cover her mouth.

"Okay, okay, you can have it back. Though cheating's not fair."

"Hey, I do what I can. Besides, Riley's the cute one."

Her hands flew to her own mouth as soon as she closed it, but it was too late. It had been said.

"Heh, you think I'm cute?" he said, with an adorable smirk on his face.

She turned a shade of red that closely resembled a fire truck.

"I… Um, well…"

She stumbled and stuttered, failing to get a complete sentence out.

"Aww, my ickle little Chrissy has the hots for Riley." Jennifer said, putting her hands together against her face and batting her eyelashes.

"Oh, shut the hell up", she spat, turning away from them.

Jennifer shrugged, "Oh well, at least she forgot about the coat."

At that, Christina turned around and ripped it off of her, handing it to Riley.


	2. Chapter 2

**Is it a bad thing that I only had to use the movie script once in the whole chapter and that the rest was from memory? XD; **

**renjiluver44: Thanks for the review and fav! X3 And don't worry, I don't do Abigail bashing. XD**

**Time and Fate: Oh, I certainly don't mind you falling in love with it. :3 XD Thanks for the review. :D**

**xxroxy-dogxx: Well, here's your update. XD Thanks much for the review. :3**

**PhropheticIllusion: They are aren't they? XD I love writing for them. :D And omg, I love all of your stories! X3 Oh, and I know this one is almost just like the one with Nicole and Kathleen, and I'm sooo sorry. D: I never meant it to be, so I hope you don't think I'm trying to copy you or anything. D: And thankyouthankyouthankyou for the review. XD**

**Dark Duchess of the Underworld: Ahaha, thanks for the review. :D**

**Also, Christina is based on me and Jennifer is based on my real life friend, just so everyone is clear. XD **

**Disclaimer: No. Nothing. Nadda. Zip. Zilch. None. Get it now? TT**

"I was thinking about Henson and Peary," Ben started, "crossing this kind of terrain with nothing more than dog sleds and on foot."

"It's extraordinary"

"Yeah, yeah, fascinating." Jennifer said, waving her hand, "Are we almost there?"

"Assuming Ben's theory is correct and my tracking module is accurate, we should be very close. But don't go by me, I broke a shoelace this morning."

Everyone but Christina stared at him.

"It's a bad omen." they said at the same time.

Ian smirked, "Shall we turn around and go home?"

"Or we could just pull over and throw them both out here." Ben said, laughing.

"That's great idea Ben," Jennifer cut in, nudging the two of them to the side.

"I'd have much more elbow room."

"You know, out of the two of you, I definitely like Chris more." Riley said, frowning at her.

"If only you knew how much of a compliment that was." She leaned into Christina, smirking, which earned her a punch in return.

Riley's beeping computer interrupted any further conversation.

"Why are we stopping?" Shaw, one of Ian's henchmen asked dumbly, "I thought we were looking for a ship."

"I don't see a ship." Jennifer said offhandedly, surveying the area around them.

"She's out there." Ben said, with a confident smile.

Everyone scrambled out and Jennifer was about to complain until Christina threw a snowball at her head, which started a fight of epic proportions.

"Look this is a waste of time." Shippen announced rudely. "How could a ship wind up way out here?"

Riley walked up to his side. "Well, I'm no expert, but it could be that the hydrothermic properties of this region produce hurricane force ice storms that cause the ocean to freeze and then melt and then refreeze, resulting in a semi-solid migrating land mass that would land a ship right about here."

Christina paused in the middle of chucking the ball of frozen water and laughed. "Oh, but you're no expert."

Riley turned and smirked at her and she blushed slightly and stared at the ground. Jennifer took that moment to throw one directly at her face, then ran to catch up with everyone, laughing at her. Christina ran up to her and was about to shove a load of snow down the back of her shirt when Ben suddenly started to hack at the ground with a pick. He stopped when a metallic clang rung through the air and brushed away the loose snow. He took out his water bottle and poured it over the exposed area in order to see exactly what made the clang and smiled.

"Hello beautiful."

Jennifer rolled her eyes and threw her arms up in the air. "He would find the exact spot where the name of the ship is."

Riley just looked at her and Christina laughed.

It took what felt like ages to uncover the Charlotte, but the task was finally done, and Ben stood looking at it in awe.

"Two years ago, if you hadn't shown up, hadn't believed the treasure was real, I doubt I ever would have found the Charlotte."

"You would have found it, I have no doubt." Ian answered, turning to him. "That's why I don't think it was as crazy an investment as everyone said."

"I'm just glad I'm not as crazy as everyone says. Or said my dad was. Or my granddad. Or my great-granddad."

Ian smirked and looked over the ship as well. "Let's go find some treasure."

The group entered the ship's hold with Ben leading the way. Riley curiously pulled back a sheet covering something up in a hammock, then fell backwards.

"Ahh! Oh God!"

Ben turned around and stared at him. "You handled that well."

Jennifer attempted to hold in her laughter, but failed miserably as she had to steady herself against the wall. "Seriously." She clutched her sides, sinking to the floor.

Riley furrowed his brow at her, rather cutely, I might add, and huffed. "It wasn't that funny."

Due to the fact that she was laughing too hard to speak, she merely pointed to the ground under him, and he scrambled up realizing he was sitting on something. Sitting under him, of course, was one, bright red Christina.

Jennifer regained enough composure to get up and walk over to her. "Oh man, if you could only see your face." She lost it again and fell over, rolling from side to side.

Riley blushed a light pink and pulled her up from the ground, causing her to blush an ever deeper red in the process.

"Uh, s-sorry about that."

Christina doubted her vocal chords would ever function properly again, but she managed a high-pitched squeak in return. The need for any more conversation was thankfully eliminated when Ben's voice suddenly cut in.

"This is it, the cargo hold."

He swung the frozen door open and revealed a room that didn't look much different from the one they were just in, except for the abundance of barrels.

Riley poked his head in. "You think it's in the barrels?

Ian walked over and opened one of the barrels with his pick.

"Gunpowder."

They spread out about the room, checking it all out. Christina giggled as Riley pulled the cork out of a barrel then dropped it as it started to pour out gunpowder. Ben knelt down next to a more fancily dressed skeleton with a barrel in its arms.

"Now why would the captain be guarding this barrel?" He opened and sifted through finding a small, rectangular box.

"I've found something!"

Everyone gathered around as he opened it revealing a very beautiful ivory pipe in the shape of a ship.

"Do you guys know what this is?"

"Is it a billion dollar pipe?" Christina and Riley once again chorused. He looked and her and laughed and she turned away and blushed. Jennifer rolled her eyes and made an 'ugh' sound at the both of them.

Ian looked at it in awe and carefully took it to get a better look. "It's a Miashawn pipe."

Ben nodded. "Look at the intricacy of the scroll work on the stem."

Riley tried again. "Is it a million dollar pipe?"

"No, it's a clue. Let me see that." He took the pipe back and popped the stem out.

Riley threw his hand out. "What; don't break it!"

"We are one step closer to the treasure gentlemen."

Ian gave him a restless look. "Ben, I thought you said the treasure would be on the Charlotte."

"No, the secret lies with Charlotte. I said it could be here." He took out a knife and pressed it into his thumb; causing Riley to wince and Christina to grab his arm hide her face in his shoulder. Jennifer sniggered and leaned over to her ear.

"A little flirty now, aren't we?"

She gasped as she realized what she was doing and quickly dropped his arm and backed away, leaving him looking a little hurt.

Jennifer snickered to herself, "Oh I do love my awkward moments."

Christina blushed furiously and punched her hard in the arm.

Meanwhile, Ben had already smeared blood on the stem of the pipe and was rolling it down a sheet of paper. "These are Templar symbols."

The legend writ,

The stain affected,

The key in Silence undetected,

Fifty-five in iron pen,

Mr. Matlack can't offend.

"It's a riddle. I need to think." He walked over to a barrel and sat down. "The legend writ, the stain affected. What legend? There is the legend of the Templar treasure, the stain affects the legend. Wait. The legend, the key. Well there's something: A map. Maps have legends; maps have keys. It's a map. An invisible map, so now…"

Jennifer threw up her hands. "Whoa, hold on there skippy. What do you mean invisible?"

"The stain affected could refer to a dye or reagent used to bring about a certain result, combined with the key in Silence undetected. The implication is to make what was undetectable, detectable. Unless the key in Silence could be..."

"Prison." Everyone looked at Shaw, who had suddenly interrupted.

"Albuquerque." Riley added. "She, I can do it too. Snorkel."

Christina laughed at him.

Shaw frowned and continued with his statement. "It's where the map is. Like you said, fifty-five in iron pen. Iron pen is a prison."

"Or it could be since the primary writing medium of the time was Iron gull ink; the pen is… just a pen. Then why not say a pen, why say iron pen?"

"Because it's a prison." Shaw said, stubbornly defending his idea.

Jennifer sighed and turned to him. "Let it go, man."

They turned their attention back to Ben when he looked as though a bright yellow light bulb had appeared over his head. "Wait, iron pen. The ink does not describe what was in the pen, it describes what was penned. It was iron, it was firm, it was mineral- no, no, no. It was firm, it was adamant, it was resolved. It was resolved. Mr. Matlack can't offend… Timothy Matlack was the official scribe of the continental congress. Calligrapher, not writer, and to make sure he could not offend the map, it was put on the back of a resolution that he transcribed, a resolution that fifty-five men signed. The Declaration of Independence."

Ian let out a breath he had been holding and Christina made a little 'Oooh'.

Riley gave him an incredulous look. "Come on, there's no 'invisible map' on the back of the Declaration of Independence."

"It's clever really," Ian said with a thoughtful look "a document of that importance would ensure the map's survival. And you said several masons signed it, yeah?"

"Nine for sure."

Ian sighed and fiddled with the fingers of his glove. "We'll have to arrange for a way to examine it."

Christina stared at him. "Dude, this is one of the most important documents in history! They're not just gonna let us waltz in there and run chemical tests on it."

Ian frowned at her and turned back to Ben. "Well then what do you propose we do?"

"I don't know!" Ben yelled, clearly frustrated.

Ian was quiet for a moment. "We could… borrow it."

"Steal it, you mean." Jennifer cut in, sneering at him.

"I don't think so." Ben added.

Ian looked exasperated. "Ben, this is the treasure of all treasures."

"Oh, I didn't know that. Really?"

"Ben, I understand your bitterness, I really do. You've spent your entire life searching for this treasure only to have the historical community treat your family with mockery and contempt. You should be able to rub this treasure in their arrogant faces, and I want you to have the chance to do that."

Ben looked thoughtful for a moment. "How?"

"We all have our areas of expertise; you don't think mine is limited to writing Sheakstean." He laughed, "Why, I've arranged a number of operations of… questionable legality."

"I would take his word for it." Shaw added.

"Don't worry; I'll make all the arrangements."

"No."

"I really need your help here."

"Ian, I am not going to let you steal the Declaration of Independence."

Christina suddenly remembered Shaw had a gun, and that Ian was about to get him to pull it on Ben. Without thinking another second, she tackled him. However, not being heavy enough to knock him down, she only sent him flying over to the left where he regained he balance against the wall and twisted her into a headlock.

Ian nodded at him and he pulled the gun out and pointed it at Ben.

"Okay. Then you're only going to be a hindrance from this point on."

Riley lurched forward. "Hey!"

Jennifer squeaked Christina's name and made a move towards Shaw.

Ben's expression stayed unchanged. "What are you going to do? Are you going to shoot me Shaw? Well you can't shoot me; there's more to the riddle. Information I have, you don't. I'm the only one who can figure it out and you know that."

"He's bluffing."

"We played poker together Ian, you know I can't bluff."

"Tell me what I need to know or I'll shot your friend."

Shaw moved the gun to Christina's temple.

Riley and Jennifer both shouted her name and moved closer to Shaw, but stopped at Ian's voice.

"Shut up, the both of you. Your job is finished here."

Ben struck a flare on a barrel and waved it threateningly.

"Look where you're standing; all that gunpowder. You shoot her, I drop this, we all go up."

"Ben!" Riley looked back over at him, panicked.

"What happens when the flare burns down? Tell me what I need to know Ben."

"You need to know… If Shaw can catch!"

He threw the flare at him and they all watched in horror as it flew through the air. Riley screwed his eyes closed, waiting for the inevitable… which didn't come. He opened them to see Ian holding the flare, shaking it back and forth.

"Nice try though, Ben."

Suddenly, Ian's sleeve caught fire and he dropped the flare, causing fire to spring up everywhere. Shaw released Christina in surprise, and ran over to the door with Ian. Christina retreated farther into the hold with Jennifer, Ben, and Riley and Ian looked at them scornfully.

"Fools!" He slammed the door shut as soon as Shaw was out, leaving them trapped in the burning room.

Ben started stomping around, then bent down and opened a concealed door in the floor.

"Riley, Jennifer Christina, get over here!"

"Is that a smuggler's hold?" Christina yelled over the fire.

"Yeah, get in!"

They all dove down into the hole, then crawled farther back until they hit a dead end where Ben pulled down another door to further block them from the room.

Then, with probably the loudest and most violent noise Christina had ever heard, the ship exploded.

They all sat up breathing heavily amid the smoke and debris falling from the sky.

Riley crawled over to Christina. "Are you alright?" She nodded, hugging herself, rocking back and forth.

"You alright Jenn?" she called weakly.

She heard a small grunt that sounded somewhat positive, so she took it as a yes.

Ben stood. "There's an Inuit village about nine miles east of here popular with push pilots."

Riley helped Christina up then joined him. "Then what are we gonna do?"

Christina walked over to comfort Jennifer, who was shaking badly.

"Start making our way back home."

"No, I meant about Ian. He's going to steal the Declaration of Independence, Ben."

Ben turned to look at him. "We stop him."


	3. Chapter 3

**First of all, I am SOOOOOOO sorry this took this long to write. D: I had exams all of last week, plus there are some problems in the family, and now I'm sick. D:**

**Furthermore, I was kinda stuck on what to write for this chapter in terms of going along with the movie or doing a chapter with them in the Inuit village. I decided to go with the village idea because of some tips from my lovely reviewers (;D), and I need to work on my writing skills. And it's always fun to write original Jennifer vs. Riley stuff. XD Since Christina's kinda boring. :P **

**Aaaaanyways, here beith the newith chapterith. (Which is mostly RileyChristina fluff. ;D )**

**Disclaimerith: You know, I don't really see the point in these things. I mean, it's not like anyone ever COULD take credit for it and like, have people believe them. :\ It's **

**like saying I'm Bill Gates or something. And I'm not Bill Gates. Trust me. **

They had been walking for no more than ten minutes and Jennifer had already started complaining,

"It's so COLD!" She turned her head up to the sky, elongating the vowels to make her point. Christina massaged her temple.

"Jenn, it's the Arctic Circle. It's typically very cold in the Arctic Circle. Now you can either shut your mouth, or I'll shove it full of snow the next time you open it."

Jennifer huffed at her and pouted. "Fine, you big meanie."

Ben laughed. "She whines more than Riley. And that's a pretty big goal to accomplish."

Both Riley and Jennifer looked up indignantly and shouted, "Hey!"

Christina and Ben laughed and walked ahead of them.

Jennifer pouted again then slowly turned her head to Riley with an evil grin on her face. Riley met her gaze and a smile much akin to hers crept across his face.

She held out her hand. "Truce?"

He took it. "Truce."

She snickered. "Sidekick and sidekick. This should be interesting."

He joined in the snickering but stopped and stared at her. "Wait, what? Sidekicks?"

She looked a bit sad for a moment then grinned at him. "Oh come on man, you and I both know we're just here for the comic relief."

He looked confused for a moment. "Did… you just insult yourself?"

She frowned. "Of course not, everyone loves the comic relief!"

She grinned widely then ran ahead. He looked after her in a state of confusion. "Uh… H-Hey! Wait for me!"

---------------------

They reached the village a couple hours later and, after much debate and complaining on Jennifer and Riley's part, decided to rent out a cabin for the night.

Jennifer burst through the door wailing, frantically rubbing her arms in an attempt to return heat to her thoroughly chilled body. Christina calmly followed her in and sat down on the couch with a heavy sigh. Riley followed suit, taking a seat next to Christina, and with a final rush of cold air, Ben walked in and shut the door.

Jennifer, after considering herself sufficiently warm enough to regain her sarcasm, piped up, "I get the couch."

As soon as she had shut her mouth, Christina's voice interrupted the silence, "I get the other couch."

Ben spoke up soon after, "I get the bed."

Riley stared at all three of them with his mouth open. "Hey, where am I supposed to sleep?"

Christina smiled at him and slapped a hand on his back. "Well, I guess you'll just have to take the floor."

He huffed at her and pouted. "That's not fair!I had to help pay for the cabin in the first place."

She laughed at him and gave him a little shake, "You should know by now that life isn't fair. Besides, you're young, you can handle it."

Jennifer smirked. "Yeah, be a man Riley."

He scoffed at the two. "I'm older than you." He crossed his arms and stuck his tongue out at Christina.

She crossed her arms as well. "Yes, well, _I'm _a lady."

Jennifer snorted and Christina threw a conveniently placed throw pillow at her.

Ben shook his head. "You kids have fun; I'm going to take a shower and go to bed" He walked over to the hall and stopped, turning back to face Jennifer. "Make sure they don't kill each other."

Jennifer waved at him. "Oh, I wouldn't worry about killing." She snickered and looked back at the two who were arguing like a married couple, which was an ironically hilarious thing to compare them to.

Ben raised an eyebrow then shook his head for probably the millionth time that day, and headed down the hall.

"You're NOT sleeping on this couch."

"I'm NOT sleeping on that floor."

"And I'm NOT going to listen to you two bicker all night long, so decide on some happy medium and shut the hell up." Jennifer sighed, half-way smiling, and flopped down on her couch.

Riley re-crossed his arms. "Fine then, I guess we'll just have to share the couch."

At that moment, all of the color drained from Christina's face and Jennifer erupted into a fit of raucous laughter.

Riley blushed. "I… I meant like… Me at one end and you at the…. other …"

Jennifer started smacking the couch with her fists as she gasped for air. "Well, look at it this way dude; you could finally say you slept with him." She caused herself to crack up again, and she fell over clutching her stomach.

Christina threw another pillow at her and tried desperately to hide her very rosy cheeks.

"Uh-Um… Th-that's fine. I mean if you want 'cause it would be fine and you know it's a lot more comfy than the floor and… That's fine." She decided to shut her mouth before she babbled her last bit of dignity away.

Jennifer regained the majority of her composure and looked at her with a large grin on her face. "Oh come on Chris, you know you want him to."

Christina got up and walked over to her and smacked her harshly on the shoulder. "Shut up!"

She scrubbed at her eyes with her sleeve and ran out the door.

Jennifer stared at the door with a shocked and slightly confused expression. She turned to Riley, who was also staring at the door, his mouth slightly open.

She stuttered, "I-I was just kidding."

He ignored her and quickly got up and rushed out the door after Christina. He found her leaning against the railing of the porch with her head in her hands, her shoulders moving back and forth as she silently sobbed. He frowned and gently touched her shoulder, causing her to jerk up and stare at him. Her gaze plummeted to the floor and she sniffed and rubbed her eyes.

"I'm sorry, I just… I cry when I get mad."

She sniffed and rubbed her eyes again, more harshly this time.

"I'm really sorry, I just can't…"

She was cut off by a large watermelon appearing in her throat and she felt the hot tears stinging her cheeks again. Riley, not really being that much of a person that would know what to do in these types of situations, awkwardly pulled her into a hug and carefully stroked her hair.

"It's alright, there's nothing to be sorry about."

She choked out a sob and beat her fist into his chest, frustrated at her inability to regain composure.

He pulled her closer and she rested her head in the crook of his neck, sobbing quietly. After a few minutes, she slowly calmed down and her jerking breaths became smooth, calm ones. She shifted in his arms and he released her. She looked up at him and blushed at the closeness of their faces.

"Um, that offer for the couch is still up for grabs if you want."

He smiled. "What, a little emotional breakdown and suddenly you're not stubborn?"

"Well if you don't want it…" She trailed off, staring into his eyes. He gazed back into hers, and they closed the gap, lips touching in a soft, sweet kiss. They parted soon after, both blushing deeply and staring at the ground.

She giggled and bit the inside of her lip. "Jenn will wonder what's taking us so long."

He scuffed his foot against the ground and looked at her. "Yeah."

She scooted past him and grabbed the handle of the door, but stopped at the sound of Riley's voice.

"Christina?"

She turned back to him. "Yeah?"

He smiled slightly and blushed. "I um… I'll take you up on that offer."

She smiled. "Can't handle the floor, can we?"

He huffed indignantly and she laughed and shoved him playfully.

"Oh come on, you big baby, you should be happy, you're sleeping with me." She winked at him and ran into the house, leaving him to ponder the exact meaning of her words.


	4. Chapter 4

**You know, I sort of feel like I rushed into Riley and Christina's relationship. :/ I dunno, maybe I'm just weird. XD Well, I know I'm weird, but you know what I mean. XP **

**Anyway, oh em gee new chapter already? Amazing! Well, you guys deserve it after that last painfully short chapter. –sweatdrop- **

**Oh and WARNING: THIS CHAPTER IS RATED T FOR SOME STRONGER SWEAR WORDS AND I'M PARANOID. **

**Disclaimer: I'm running out of witty things to say here. D: I guess I'll go with the basics then: I do not own anything even remotely related to National Treasure. Except for a poster I have hanging over my bed. **

Jennifer met Christina at the door as she re-entered with a horribly worried expression on her face.

"Chris, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean it. I shouldn't have teased you that bad…"

Christina smiled and hugged her friend. "It's alright Jenn, you know how overly sensitive I am. Now snap out of it before you turn into a pansy,"

Jennifer smiled and rested her arm on Christina's shoulder. "Humph, that's the last time I give you a heart-wrenching apology."

Christina smirked. "That was heart-wrenching?"

Jennifer snorted. "Of course, any sort of apology that consists of anything more than 'sorry' is heart-wrenching for me. You know how much of an ass I am."

Christina laughed. "That I do."

Jennifer grunted and removed her arm from Christina's shoulder. "You're supposed to disagree and go into an overly mushy sob story about how great a friend I am and that I shouldn't say things like that about myself."

Christina placed a hand on her chin and nodded. "Well I guess I'll have to remember that the next time you admit you're an ass."

Jennifer huffed and threw her hands up. "Well damn, there goes that dream."

Christina laughed and tackled her, ruffling her hair in the process. "Oh, come on, you know I love you."

Jennifer gave a pompous sigh and shrugged her shoulders. "Who doesn't?"

Christina laughed and shoved her fingers into the ultra ticklish spot on Jennifer's side causing her to squeal and squirm away form her.

She shuddered and rubbed her side, looking quite disheveled. "Man, that's not cool."

Riley chose that moment to finally re-enter the cabin and he stared at the two, only to have them exchange a glance then look back at him with a devilish grin on their face.

He backed away, gulping as a feeling a dread aroused in the pit of his stomach.

They jumped him as he turned for the door, each shoving their fingers into his sides in a merciless attack to his dignity. He squirmed and laughed at the same time, thrashing from side to side trying to escape the pure torture that was their fingers.

"S-S-Stop guys!" He emitted another loud laugh and thrashed to his left. "S-Stop!"

Christina stopped and laughed. "Come on Jenn, that's enough. He's gonna hurt himself if he keeps thrashing around like that."

Jennifer looked at her and stuck her bottom lip out. "Aww, you're no fun."

Riley lay on the floor catching his breath. "I'm not sure what I did to deserve this."

Jennifer leaned over the right side of his face looking down at him. "You didn't do anything,"

Christina leaned over the left side of his face. "You're just fun to mess with." She finished with a poke to his nose.

He pouted and crossed his arms. "I'm glad you take so much joy in causing me misery."

They both laughed and grabbed an arm, heaving him up. Christina yawned and stretched her back. "Well, I think we've had enough fun for one day."

Riley grimaced and held his sides. "I couldn't agree with you more."

Jennifer gave her trademark pout, and crossed her arms. "You guys are going to bed already? It only," she glanced at the clock on the wall, "Eleven o'clock."

Christina sighed and flopped down on the couch placing her arm over her eyes. "Well Jenn, that's when most people go to bed."

Riley took the spot on the opposite side of the couch and tucked his legs behind Christina's. She removed her arm from her face and smirked at him.

"I swear, if you happen to be one of those people that kick in their sleep, I'll castrate you."

Jennifer laid down on her couch and sighed, rubbing her eyes. "She's not kidding either."

He smirked. "I'll make sure to keep my feet to myself then."

She closed her eyes and smiled. "Good boy."

Jennifer turned off the remaining lamp, sending the room into complete darkness. There was the rustling of fabric as she got situated then she let out a large yawn.

"Night, guys."

Riley gave a small grunt and Christina hummed, both too tired to answer properly.

A few minutes of silence passed, and Christina opened her eyes and frowned. She bit her lip, then quietly got up and moved to Riley's end of the couch, snuggling into his warm chest. With a content sigh she shut her eyes again and drifted off to sleep. Unbeknownst to her, Riley smiled and slipped his arm around her waist, hugging her tightly. He sighed happily and drifted off to sleep as well.

--------------

Ben stretched as he entered the living room, heading over to the kitchen to make coffee. Seeing that it was already made, he glanced over to the table to see Jennifer with her head slumped down, a steaming mug clenched tightly in her fist.

He turned his attention back to the empty mug he had gotten for himself and started filling it with the hot liquid. "Good morning."

She grunted and took a sip of coffee.

He took a seat opposite of her and leaned back in his chair. "Where are Christina and Riley?"

"Romeo and Juliet are currently enjoying their beauty sleep on the couch over there." She rolled her eyes and took another sip of her coffee.

He sat up enough to see over the back of the couch and spotted Christina curled up in Riley's arms, both fast asleep.

He chuckled. "Wow, you miss a lot in a nighttime."

Jennifer looked over at her friend and smiled. "I'm happy for her."

Ben looked at the two and smiled as well. "I think they'll make a great couple." He drained the last of his coffee and grinned. "Now, you go wake them up."

Jennifer stared at him. "What? No way! Do you have ANY idea how cranky Chris is when she wakes up?"

"All the more reason for you to wake them up." He grinned wider and retreated down the hall.

Jennifer frowned in his direction and crossed her arm. "Stupid old man, tricking me into waking them up." She sighed and turned to face the couch. This was going to be one hell of a morning.

--------------

Riley huffed as they walked out of the FBI building. "Is it really that hard to believe that someone is going to steal the Declaration of Independence?"

They stopped and Ben turned to him. "The FBI gets ten thousand tips a week. They're not going to worry about something they're sure is safe."

Riley sighed. "But anyone that can do anything is going to think we're crazy."

"And anyone crazy enough to believe us isn't going to want to help" Christina added.

Ben smiled. "We don't need someone crazy. We are one step short and crazy, and what do you get?"

Jennifer snorted. "Obsessed."

"Passionate" Ben corrected.

--------------

They walked through the doors of the National Archive and walked up to speak with the clerk. Cristina, Riley, and Jennifer took a seat in the waiting room, and Ben joined them shortly after. Ben eyed a pamphlet on the table next to Riley and reached over and grabbed it.

The secretary looked up. "Dr. Chase san see you now Mr. Brown."

They all stood up and followed the woman to Dr. Chase's office. Riley shuffled up next to Ben. "Dr. Brown?"

Ben frowned. "The family name doesn't get a lot of respect in the academic community."

"So you're be being cut down by the man." The secretary opened the door of the office and Riley's eyes widened when he saw Dr. Chase. "A very cute man."

Jennifer snickered and Christina elbowed him in the side.

The woman was on the phone and didn't take notice of them at first. "Thank you." She hung up the phone and turned to the group of people that had just entered her office. "Good afternoon ladies and gentleman."

Riley stared at her. "Hi." Christina elbowed him again causing him to wince and glare at her.

The woman offered her hand. "Abigail Chase."

Ben took it. "Paul Brown."

"Nice to meet you." She turned her attention to the other three.

Christina held out her hand. "Rosalynn James."

Jennifer mimicked her. "Natalie Turner."

Riley stuttered. "Bill."

Christina suppressed a laughed and Abigail gave him a strange look.

"Nice to meet you Rosalynn, Natalie, and Bill." She gave each of their hands a shake and settled back into her chair, lacing her finger together.

"How may I help you?"

Ben's eyes lit up. "Your accent… Pennsylvania Dutch?"

Christina rolled her eyes and muttered, "There he goes with his suaveness."

Jennifer giggled and Riley cracked a smile.

"Saxony German" Abigail corrected, not noticing Christina's comment.

Riley furrowed his eyebrows. "You're not American?" Cristina punched him in the arm and he glared at her again.

"Oh, I am an American, I just wasn't born here." She turned her attention to Ben who was examining a collection of pins sitting on top of a wardrobe. "Please don't touch that."

Ben retracted his outstretched hand and looked at her. "Sorry. Neat collection; George Washington's campaign buttons. You're missing the 1789 inaugural though. I found one once."

"That's very fortunate of you." She had a slightly exasperated tone. "Now you told my assistant that this was an urgent matter?"

"Ah, yes ma'am." He crossed his hands behind his back and sat down. "Well I am going to get straight to the point." He brought his arms back in front of him and looked her in the eye. "Someone's going to steal the Declaration of Independence."

She gave him an incredulous look.

"It's true." Riley added. Jennifer looked at him and Christina shook her head.

Abigail continued to stare at Ben. "I think I better put you in touch with the FBI…"

"We've been to the FBI."

She raised her eyebrows at him. "And?"

Riley gave a short sigh. "They assured us assured us the Declaration could not possibly be stolen."

"They're right."

Ben shifted in his chair. "My friends and I are less certain. However, if we were given the privilege of examining the document, we would be able to tell you for certain if it were in any danger."

Abigail cocked her head slightly to the side. "What do you think you are going to find?"

Ben sucked in a breath and licked his lips. "We believe there is a… encryption on the back."

"An encryption of what?"

Ben twiddled his thumbs. "Uh, a cartograph."

Abigail raised an eyebrow. "A map?"

"Yes ma'am."

"A map of what?"

Ben swallowed. "The location of…" He cleared his throat. "Items of historic and… intrinsic value."

"A… treasure map?"

"That's where we lost the FBI." Riley cut in.

Abigail sat back and glared at them. "You're treasure hunters aren't you?"

Ben sighed. "More like, treasure protectors."

"Mr. Brown, I have personally seen the Declaration of Independence, and I promise you the only thing there is a notation that reads 'original Declaration of Independence dated-'"

"-'of Independence dated four of July 1776.'" Ben finished for her. "Yes ma'am."

"But no map."

Ben sucked in a breath and Riley closed his eyes and lightly shook his head. Ben glanced at him and let the breath out. "It's invisible."

"Oh." She leaned back crossing her hands. "Right." Disbelief and sarcasm coated the word.

"And that's where we lost the Department of Homeland Security." Riley cut in once again, with an exasperated sigh. Jennifer hit him upside the head.

"Would you just shut up for once?"

Abigail ignored the interruption and continued with her questioning. "What led you to assume there is this invisible map?"

Ben stared at her unblinking. "We found an engraving on the stem of a two-hundred-year-old pipe."

"Owned by free masons." Christina added.

Abigail glanced at her then looked back at Ben. "May I see the pipe?"

"We don't… have it." Riley answered for Ben.

Abigail leaned forward. "Did Bigfoot take it?"

Ben stood abruptly. "It was nice meeting you."

She leaned back again raising her eyebrows. "It was nice to meet you too."

Christina, Jennifer, and Riley stood and started filing out the door. Ben stopped on his way out and looked at the old campaign buttons.

"You know, that really is a nice collection. Must have taken you a long time to hunt down all that history." He gave her one final look then turned and left.

--------------

"Ben, if it's any consolation, you had me convinced." Riley started as they strode across the floor of the display room of the National Archives.

"It's not." He replied, heading to a certain case that held the document they sought after.

He stopped and stared at it, sighing.

Riley's eyes wandered to the ceiling. "I was thinking, what if we go public? Flash the story all over the internet."

Christina laughed. "I guess we don't have our reputations to worry about."

Jennifer snorted. "Not like you had one in the first place."

Christina glared at her and Riley snickered.

"Although, I don't think that's exactly going to scare Ian away."

Ben's voice suddenly reached their ears. "One hundred and eighty years of searching and I'm three feet away. Of all the ideas that became the United States, there is a line here that is at the heart of all others. _'But when a long train of abuses and years of patience pursuing invariably the same object, evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their right, it is their duty to throw off such government and provide new guards for their future security'._" He breathed. "People don't talk that way anymore."

Riley stared. "Beautiful… huh… no idea what you said."

Jennifer crossed her arms. "Why can't they just say what they mean instead of using a bunch of fancy words?"

Christina shook her head. "It means if something is wrong, those that have the ability take action, have the responsibility to take action."

Ben nodded slowly, barely acknowledging she had spoken.

"I'm going to steal it."

Jennifer's mouth fell open and Riley laughed. Christina had a sort of pained expression on her face.

Without waiting for a response, Ben started walking towards the exit.

Riley, after realizing Ben was serious, began to run after him. "Uh, Ben?!"

--------------

Riley sat with his face in his hands as Ben paced back and forth on the steps of the building. Christina had her head rested on Riley's shoulder and Jennifer was leaned up against Christina's legs.

Riley looked up. "Ben, this is huge. Prison huge. You are going to prison, you know that?"

Ben stopped and looked at the sky. 'Yeah, probably."

Riley blinked and stared forward. "That would… bother most people."

"Ben is not most people, Ri." Christina sighed and buried her face deeper into his shoulder."

"Ian's going to try and steal it, and if he succeeds, he will destroy the Declaration. The fact is, the only way to protect the Declaration, is to steal it. It's upside-down." He ran a hand through his hair. "I don't think there's a choice."

"Ben, for god-sakes, it's like, stealing a national monument!" He threw his arms up at the Lincoln Memorial. "It's like stealing him! It can't be done. Not that it shouldn't be done, it CAN'T be done." He put a hand to his forehead. "Let me show you."

--------------

"Okay, Ben, Christina, Jennifer, pay attention. I've brought you all to the library of Congress. Why? Because it's the biggest library in the world." Ben looked at him with a bored expression on his face, Jennifer picked at her nails, and Christina yawned. "Over twenty million books and they're all saying the same thing. Listen to Riley." He leaned forward, accentuating the words with his hands. He dropped a rather large, heavy book in front them. "What we have here, my friends, is an entire layout of the archives. We've got builders blueprints, we have construction orders, phone lines, water and sewage. It's all here." He stopped to adjust his glasses and Jennifer looked up from her hand.

"Now, when the Declaration is on display, it is surrounded by guards and video monitors, and little families from Iowa, and little kids on their eighth grade field trip." Christina giggled and Jennifer looked at her with a smirk on her face. "And beneath an inch of bullet-proof glass is an army of sensors and heat monitors that will go off if someone gets too close with a high fever. Now when it's not on display, it's lowered into a four feet thick concrete steel plated vault that happens to be equipped with an electric combination lock and biometric access-denial systems."

Jennifer stared at him. "Are you done?"

He glared at her. "Yes."

Ben sat, looking thoughtful as he rubbed his chin. "You know, Thomas Edison tried and failed nearly two thousand times to develop the carbonized cotton filament for the incandescent light bulb."

Riley cocked his head. "Edison?"

Ben continued. "When asked about it he said 'I didn't fail, I found out two thousand ways how not to make a light bulb'. But he needed only one way," he flipped through the book then turned it around to Riley. "…to make it work. The preservation room. Go ahead, enjoy."

Riley stared at the book.

"Do you know what the preservation room is for?"

"Delicious jams and jellies?"

Christina snorted and Jennifer massaged her temple.

"No. That's where they clean, repair, and maintain all the documents and storage housings when they are not on display or in the vault. Now when the case needs work, they take it out of the vault and directly across the hall into the preservation room. The best time for us-"

"Or Ian." Christina interrupted.

"-to steal it," Ben continued, "would be during the Gala this weekend, when the guards are distracted by the V.I.P.S upstairs. But we'll make our way to the preservation room where there is much less security." He tapped the table with his finger while he spoke the last three words.

Riley's eyes darted over the book and he periodically flipped a few pages. "Huh… well if Ian… preservation room… Gala…." He looked up at Ben "This might be possible."

"It might."


	5. Chapter 5

**Okay, so, I haven't updated this in… Well, a long time, and I really can't say how sorry I am. It started with this majorly huge writers' block that I had and I guess I kinda… forgot about it. >.>; Um, so, you may hurt me as much as you like. Really, you can. And, and, and I'll give you all cookies! :D Also, Spring Break is here, so I promise at least a chapter a day (hopefully) for it. Oh, and the italics in this chapter are flashbacks.**

**So, for future warning, this chapter is going to contain typical teenage drama. :P You'll live though, I think it's an interesting look on the characters' individual personalities. Furthermore, I'm bumping this story's rating up to T because there is some strong language and I don't want to risk having any kiddies reading it. :P**

**Disclaimer: I do not own and am not affiliated with National Treasure in any way. If you hear that I am from someone, that someone is lying and you shouldn't be their friend anymore because liars go to hell. **

Christina stared at the large, somewhat imposing building that was the National Archives from her spot in a bush across the street. She grunted and re-situated herself, grimacing as the little lengths of wood pushed into her skin.

"Ugh, what the hell am I doing here?"

She gave a frustrated growl and broke the little twigs immediately around her. Feeling slightly more comfortable, she crossed her legs under her and sighed, reflecting on the event that landed her in her current position: crouched on the insect-ridden ground, covered in little pieces of wood.

NTNTNTNTNTNTNTNTNTNTNTNT

"_Please?"_

"_No."_

"_Pretty please?"_

"_No."_

"_I'll give you a cookie."_

"_You don't have any cookies."_

"_You don't know that."_

_Silence._

"_Okay, I don't have any cookies."_

_Christina turned to look at her friend with a bored expression on her face._

"_Jenn, I'm not gonna go with you on the 'stakeout'. I'm going with Riley to help him with whatever it is he's doing."_

_She paused to take a sip of the milkshake she had just made._

"_It's a waste of time anyway, we know what to do."_

"_Yeah, well, Ben and Riley don't. And Riley doesn't need any help anyway; you just want to go so you can be with him."_

"_And that's a bad thing?"_

_Jennifer's eyes fell to her feet._

"_Chris, it's just… We don't know what's going to happen when… this is over. We might be sent home, we might be stuck here forever. I know I don't care about being stuck here, and I'm pretty sure you don't either, but… if we… _do _go home… You might not see him again."_

_Christina frowned and scrunched up her brow._

"_You think I don't know that? That's _all _I've been thinking abut lately. Will I get to stay here with him? Will he remember me if I go home? Will _I _remember _him _if I go home?"_

_She wandered about Ben's small living room, throwing her hands up as she spoke._

"_Of course I might not see him again; that's the point. That gives me all the more reason to spend as much time with him as possible."_

_She stopped and looked Jennifer dead in the eye, feeling a hot, wet tear snake down her cheek._

"_I can't stop feeling for him, Jenn. I'm not going to do that to myself."_

_She looked down and nodded her head, reassuring herself._

"_I'm not."_

_Jennifer looked down as well and pursed her lips._

"_There's nothing that will change your mind."_

_It wasn't a question._

_She sighed._

"_Chris, I just don't want you to end up with a broken heart. I know there is a chance that you won't have to leave him, but there's always the greater chance that you will."_

"_But there's still a chance that I won't."_

"_But there's still the chance that you will."_

_Jennifer sighed, giving up that argument, and took a step towards her._

"_Chris, I'm just trying to help you to do what's best. I don't want you to end up torn to pieces; I don't want you to end up like me."_

_She grabbed Christina's hand and it was immediately yanked from her grip._

"_What makes you think you know what's best? You're not my mother or my boss or… any other power that can control me. I can make my own decisions!"_

_Jennifer frowned, her patience slipping away._

"_I'm your friend, I thought my opinion mattered?"_

_Christina merely looked at her. Jennifer's eyes opened wide and she threw her hands up._

"_Oh, excuse me, I forgot about your little boyfriend, who you, as I might add, have known only for a little over a week. He is clearly more important than I, who you have known for the majority of your life."_

_Christina stepped forward, bristling._

"_Well you're certainly not doing anything to help your case."_

_Jennifer just stood there, rooted on the spot, looking like she had just been slapped in the face._

"_You're unbelievable! Why are you defending him? You know I'm right!"_

_Christina snorted._

"_The only thing I _know _is that you're being a selfish, overpowering bitch."_

"_Well there's some quality irony for you!"_

"_You're one to talk! Why don't you just go out and whore yourself around, I'm sure there's some gullible bastard out there that will fall for it. God knows Joseph did." _

_Jennifer reared her hand back and let it fly squarely into Christina's jaw. She stumbled backward with a yelp, clutching her face in pain. She straightened up and stared at Jennifer, the other girl giving her a look of pure hatred and anger mixed with a twinge of sadness. _

"_Jenn I… I'm sorry…" _

_Jennifer just shook her head and continued to give her that awful look. She turned and made for the door, grabbing her coat on the way. She opened the door and left without a single look back, the thick plank of wood slamming loudly behind her._

NTNTNTNTNTNTNTNTNTNTNTNT

Christina shuffled into the small room and made her way to the bathroom. She sighed, staring at the reflection in the mirror littered with twigs, leaves, and the odd scratch here and there.

"Well, if I went outside and rolled through some mud I'd match, inside and out."

She spent about thirty minutes cleaning herself up, then headed for the main room. Ben was hunched over piles of papers and books, his face about two or three inches from the text. He stopped every once and a while to take a bite from the microwave lasagna beside him, but quickly returned his attention to the work in front of him.

Resolving that he probably wouldn't rejoin reality any time soon, she flopped down on the bed and gazed at the stark-white ceiling. It was so white it was obnoxious, and it made her head-ache, that had been festering behind her left eyeball for about three hours, worse. She groaned and rolled over, screwing her eyes shut.

"There's some aspirin in the medicine cabinet in the bathroom."

She reopened her eyes to see Ben observing her with an expressionless face.

"Uh, thanks, but I'm alright."

A bit of confusion flashed across his features, but it was gone in an instant and he turned back to his work.

"Suit yourself."

She closed her eyes again and let her mind amble down one of its many paths, frowning slightly when it decided to stop on one, jet-black haired computer geek. She vaguely wondered where he was, but remembered he was probably hacking into the archives' security system and crafting his little temperature raising light. Well, she knew what he was doing and where, but she didn't know exactly where that particular place was…

"Hey Ben?"

He didn't shift his attention from his work, but still acknowledged her.

"Hmm?"

"Where's Riley?"

"He's at the subway a few blocks down from here."

She thought for a moment, then rose from the bed and made her way to the door. She hesitated for a moment then turned back and slid into the bathroom, taking a couple of the aspirin. She headed back for the door, but turned before she left.

"Uh, see you later?"

She thought she heard a grunt so she shrugged to herself and went out the door.

NTNTNTNTNTNTNTNTNTNTNTNT

Jennifer stormed down the sidewalk, carelessly shoving people away, not bothering to apologize.

"Ugh, how could she do that? How could she say that?! She knows how bad it hurt me, and yet there she goes, throwing it around so casually like we were discussing the weather!"

She yelled in frustration flying down another street, not particularly caring where she ended up.

"God, I should've punched her face harder than I did. To make her realized how much of a damned stubborn idiot she's being. She makes life seem like if you went to the bathroom flowers would come out of your ass!"

She yelled again and stopped to kick a tree, immediately regretting it as a sharp pain shot through her big toe into her foot. She hopped up and down rubbing said appendage, cursing the tree for being there and giving her the temptation to kick it. She continued along with her half hop, half hobble, cursing everything she saw under her breath for her misfortune. She made her way around a corner and ploughed straight into someone. She stumbled backwards a bit, then, after steadying herself, turned to see who she had run into.

Her mouth fell open as she realized she was staring at none other than Ian Howe.

He frowned at her for a moment, but it slowly dissolved into a wicked smile.

"Well, look at this. I never thought I'd see you again. Jennifer, was it? One of the loud-mouth girls we found back in the Arctic. And here I was thinking you were dead when the Charlotte went up."

He put a hand on her shoulder, squeezing it much too tightly for it to be considered a friendly gesture.

"Why don't you come with me for a while? Perhaps tell me what Ben is up to. Or maybe you could be the incentive to help me get what I want."

There was a glint of something evil in his eye, and it paralyzed her. The terror that was clawing at the bottom of her stomach broke through and filled her up, almost making her sick. She couldn't speak. Even if she could she wouldn't dare to. She just hobbled along beside him, practically screaming for someone to come rescue her in her head, hoping that somehow, someone would hear her thoughts.

The pleas fell on deaf ears, and she was left alone with Ian guiding her down the crowded street, tightening his grip on her shoulder with every step.

NTNTNTNTNTNTNTNTNTNTNTNT

Christina hurried down the steps of the subway. She glanced around and spotted a door a little ways into the tunnel to her left. She glanced around to make sure no one was watching her, and sprinted to the door, flying through it in a matter of seconds. She stood there for a moment, silently catching her breath; her ears trained on the door, listening for a sound of someone following her. She heard nothing but the roar of the subway train and let out the breath she had been holding for the past seven minutes. She turned around to survey her surroundings: it was a medium-sized room filled with thick cords and pipes and various other electrical looking objects. She froze when she heard a voice.

"Hmm, hallway…"

It sounded awfully familiar, and she rounded around the large piece of machinery that was obstructing her view. It was Riley, staring at his computer and hanging on to a cord inserted into a hole in a pipe. He pressed a few keys on the computer and moved a joystick around a bit.

"That's what I want."

She snickered and stepped up behind him.

"Hey there Ri."

He made a sort of gurgled yelp and jumped about three feet off of his seat. He whipped around and stared at her, eyes wide with surprise.

"So, how's it goin'?"

He still gaped at her, attempting to sort out all of the questions he was trying to ask her at one time.

"I- How did- What are you doing here?"

She shrugged.

"Eh, it was getting boring with just Ben around."

"Where's Jennifer?"

She frowned at him.

"How the hell should I know? I'm not her mother."

He frowned back.

"I don't know, maybe it has something to do with you two being best friends? And if I remember correctly, I was asking you a simple question, not attacking you with false claims of motherhood, so there's no need for an attitude."

She was about to counter his statement, but he kept a hard gaze on her and she looked down in defeat.

"Sorry."

He softened his gaze and cocked his head a bit.

"What happened?"

"We were… well… We had a disagreement."

He snorted.

"So you had a 'disagreement', and she punched you upside the head. Maybe it's just me but that sounds like a _bit_ of an understatement."

She gritted her teeth and reached up to feel where Jennifer had socked her.

"It's really that noticeable?"

"Oh no, if you sort of lean back and close your left eye, then maybe close your right eye, you'd never notice it."

She rolled her eyes.

"You are one, sarcastic little asshole, you know that?"

"But you still love me."

She looked down and gave a small smile. Of course, he had meant it in a joking manner, but…

"It's hard not to love you."

She reached up and gave him a small kiss, then turned to his computer.

"So, are you done here? I'm ready to get this show on the road, and standing here chit-chatting isn't going to get that Declaration stolen any faster."

He stood there for a moment, a light blush on his cheeks, and then shook his head back to reality.

"Uh, yeah, just let me get all of my stuff."

NTNTNTNTNTNTNTNTNTNTNTNT

They had just gotten in the van when Riley's cell phone went off, the Star Wars theme floating through the air.

Christina laughed.

"Wow. That's almost pathetic."

He stuck his tongue out at her and flipped open the small device and pushed it to his ear.

"Hello?"

"Riley, where are you?"

"Heading back to the house. Christina's with me."

"Oh, good. Did everything go okay?"

"Yeah, we're all set on my end."

Christina leaned over to him.

"Is it Ben? Could I talk to him for a sec?"

Riley gave her the phone and she moved back into her seat.

"Hey Ben, have you seen Jennifer lately?"

"No, why?"

"We got into a bit of a fight earlier," Riley snorted and she elbowed him in the side, "and I haven't seen her since. It's just not like her."

"Well, let's give her a bit more time and if she doesn't turn up in time for the Gala we'll figure something out."

"Alright, see you in a few."

She snapped the phone shut and handed it back to Riley. She frowned and stared at her feet. Riley reached over and put a hand on her back.

"Hey, I'm sure she'll be alright. Knowing her, if anything or anyone bad comes along she'll probably just cuss it out and give it a nice roundhouse kick."

She smiled slightly.

"It's just, if anything does happen, I know it's my fault…"

They were interrupted by Riley's phone.

He grunted and raised it to eye level to see who it was, and his mouth fell open. Christina looked at him.

"What? Who is it?"

She leaned over and, much to her surprise, and horror, the little LCD screen read 'Ian'. She was overcome by a wave a terror as she considered all of the things that it could mean; most of which involved Jennifer. She glanced at Riley, and then back at the phone.

"Well, answer it."

He flipped the phone open and slowly raised it to his mouth.

"Hello?"

**Yes, yes, I know that has to be the worst chapter out of the bunch, but I kind of needed a plot twist, and I'm still getting over one hell of a writer's block, so like I said earlier, hurt me as much as you want. :\ Gah, now that I read it again, I realize just how bad it is. Complete with horrid to-lazy-to-write-anymore cliff-hanger. D:**


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